I am trying to market my consulting firm, and not sure if I should create a blog or a website. Which one would be more effective?
I am in the process of expanding my consulting firm and am struggling between blog or website, as well as if it is advantageous to create a facebook, twitter, instagram or other social media options.
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Apr 19, 2014
The best solution is a website with an integrated blog (I use worpress). Then you get the benefit in terns of SEO. The latest advice I am getting from SEO experts is that the best way to boost your rankings is to have good quality content, that people want to read. No more tricks and shortcuts!
My approach to online marketing has been to provide good advice via my blogs, which are shared via social media to drive traffic to my website. Readers are then encouraged to sign up to my email marketing, to receive advice in the future...all for free.
The aim is to showcase my skills and encourage lead generation. Have a look if you like: www.smebusinessgrowth.co.uk/blog.
Jun 4, 2014
Hi William,
To summarize pretty much what a lot of the responses have outlined for you, rather than trying to decide which is more advantageous, a website or a blog, you should be focusing on integrating both. A website can give your blog a platform to live on and in turn having a blog that lives on your website will drive traffic to the rest of your site. WordPress is the easiest CMS you can work with to do both that can be SEO friendly. I suggest building with a Genesis framework because they have one of the cleanest codes you can find and they have some of the best templates to integrate that framework with, that come with a lot of options for a beginner. If you will be hiring someone to build you a custom wordpress site, they will most likely use a Genesis framework as well and just design a template that fits your exact vision. I would suggest getting the SEO plugin by Yoast so that you can easily manage some basic SEO features as well. I highly recommend killing two birds with one stone.
However, if you want something right off the bat that will not require some of the minimal start up costs of getting a clean powered framework for Wordpress or maybe even a designer to custom build your site, then social media is definitely the way to start.
In the end you should be incorporating every single element into marketing your consulting firm anyway. It's really just a matter of where you feel more comfortable wetting your feet.
Apr 19, 2014
The truth is, it is best to have them all. A blog, website, and well-developed social media. I do 60 percent consulting with my business, and I haven't had to make one cold call and we are thriving! And, I still have a ton of people to follow up with this next week. I started with Social Media, then launched my website, and now I'm adding my blogs/vlogs. The more you have out there, the more ways people can find you and contact you. You should contact me so I can show you how it works.
Apr 19, 2014
You can have it all with a Wordpress site and you can use the same Wordpress site as a Social Marketing Tool to maximize your SEO efforts. For example, look at teampost.net. That is a Web site built from a customized Wordpress installation. In the Admin side, I've created a tool and a Social Media Marketing process that gets any page you want indexed on page one of Google. See the case studies on the site and the history log page. The system works. But of course you have to have it built and you have to follow the process. The beauty is that you can have it all under one site and you can do all your Social Media Marketing, blogging, and SEO in the same amount of time it would take you to do just blogging. My approach is to maximize online marketing efforts while reducing time involved in each initiative. Look me up if you have questions. Best wishes for you
Apr 19, 2014
If you only do one it should be a website. If anyone is seriously interested in your services the first place they will want to go is your website, to find out more about you. And if you don't have a website that can send a message that you're not really a professional.
Al Shultz
Apr 19, 2014
It depends really on you.
Social Media... difficult. It only works if you truly spend time and update constantly. Otherwise you are left with a FB page or Twitter that looks barren and bad for your image.
So think about it first. What are you going to write about? How often? Is it interesting to my clients or prospective clients? Is it engaging? Does it warrant the time/energy that you must invest to do all of this.
If the answers are yes, then go ahead.
When it comes to the site, you can have it your way here. Will you be updating content on the main website often? If so, then Wordpress may be your answer. If not, then go for a nice HTML5 design.
You could even have a main website made from HTML5, and then a sub domain running a blog where you can update news to your readers.
It all depends on you. I prefer HTML5 as I control every aspect of the site and its working. But I know code and can manipulate it how I want. If you are not so savvy with code, then WP may be your answer.
Hope that helps.
: )
Apr 19, 2014
HI William. I think one can get get overwhelmed by all the social media possibilities out there. So focus on one thing first and then gradually build. You can do an effective website which is your home base so people know who you are and what you do. This is where you can send potential clients to learn about your business. On your site you can also have a blog where you offer valuable content which draws additional viewers and followers and can potentially build a client base. When you offer content that people learn from, it's a natural way to build a tribe which equals new business. Eventually you can start building followers through twitter as well. Good luck.
Apr 19, 2014
Hi, the first thing you need to remember is that content is king! The stronger the content the more people will want to hear what you have to say. Also volume is not always the best answer, sometimes a short answer or post will say a lot more and possibly get people to ask more questions. Depending on what content you have (and other digital assets like photos and information etc) that you have you might want to look at a small web site that talks about your company and have an on going blog that covers topics related to your field.
If you do a blog be sure to understand that you have to have some kind of a schedule of publications of that blog so that when people subscribe they can down load it and read it more often. You have to keep to that schedule and there are a lot of tools out there that can help you with that process, for example you can write a lot of blogs all at once and set up a time line for when they are published.
The other thing is that your website, blog and any other online activity will be come searchable so be sure to know what you want to say. Also it would be a huge help to you and your brand if you had some way of making your info different (not better just different) from all the other people talking about your industry. If your new to both then maybe it would be a good idea to start with a website and work into the blog as you get more comfortable and build up a library of things to discuss. Just remember that good useful helpful meaningful content is what will drive the traffic to you and your site. Also both a blog and a website are "living things" they can and do change all of the time so do be to afraid do adjust things as you go long.
Apr 19, 2014
Hi, I advise you that a corporate website is usually a starting point to gain credibility and understanding and the area of expertise. Blogging could be integrated as part of the website where you could address specific interest or expertise areas. Websites could be built from scratch or based on an existing word press template. There are excellent web developers or designers around or hire a creative agency for branding and design. Success!
Apr 19, 2014
Hello William,
As a consultant you need to work on your online reputation, showing your expertise. The better way:
Create an account in a Curation Platform (and connect your social media), use RSS reader , alerts and be aware about news on your activity! You will show you are an expert by curating and writing on your blog.
Build an effective LinkedIn Profile
Participate on groups (1 or 2 max) discussing and publishing content (curated content and your own blog posts)
Create a twitter account to share the content from your blog and will turn viral.
Ho yes, a Wordpress is a good solution to have a site and a blog all in one.
Blog=create interest and increase your influence + engage your audience= LEAdS
Site (with effective SEO and content strategy) = conversions onto CLIENTS
Hoping this is helpful! Best regards Lydia
Apr 21, 2014
Looks like there are already 35 answers to this question. My first browse through showed that the comments would be what I would agree with. The best method is to have both. If you had to choose one, though, go with a website. A website is going to do a lot better job at selling you than just a stand-alone blog would (If done correctly). Make sure you choose a web designer that has strategy in mind when building your website. Otherwise you'll just get a pretty looking website with no conversion of sales. The strategy of the website is SO important.
Apr 21, 2014
A website, blog, email marketing and a strong social media standing is pivotal in the digital age. These investments will be well-worth your time when done right. But if you create a website that isn't appealing and have a terrible social media presence, you're almost better off without them.
Apr 23, 2014
First off, congratulations on your expansion. Building a consulting firm can take time, I know. Blogs and websites tend to be used at different stages of the sales cycle, so like many others here I would recommend both.
I see that you added "restaurant" to your search terms. What do you do in the hospitality space? My answers below are generic, but based on your feedback I might have other suggestions for you.
Blogs are used to publish insight and establish you as a thought leader. Customers or potential customers search for insights when they have issues that they are trying to solve.
Websites are reviewed when customers are in the vendor selection process. Essentially, once the customer has established that you offer a solution that they need they will evaluate your website in addition to other sources.
I personally do not believe that business to business brands need to be engaged on Facebook, and unless you are providing some sort of visually oriented consulting (store fronts, displays, CAD, food styling, etc. than Instagram isn't particularly relevant in the B:B space either. However, if you are a food stylist or designing restaurant spaces, by all means use Instagram.
Twitter is a great vehicle when you have customers to manage and provide service to. It is also great for building credibility, however the latest statistics show that the most effective users Tweet 22 times per day. So if you don't have the energy or the time to curate enough content then I would stay away from Twitter while you are growing.
LinkedIn is a fantastic vehicle to promote yourself and your company. And since they have opened their new publishing platform to all users, there is nothing stopping you from expanding your network and posting your blog directly from your profile.
Apr 19, 2014
I would build a good looking website in something like Wordpress, full cms and very easy to access the back end, on this new site you can add a great looking blog, this would help with SEO and any updates in your business.
All my sites have blogs and we add great content that nearly every time ends up page 1 for our targeted keywords.
Good luck.
Apr 19, 2014
Hello William!
The blog and the site are imperatives nowadays, especially with CMS systems like Wordpress and Drupal. With social media, Facebook and Twitter are definitely the two titans because well...every one and every brand is on Facebook and Twitter! What you'll want to keep in mind is that social media aims to help brands make more personal connections and interactions with their target audience and consumers. Therefore, Facebook and Twitter do just that regardless. However, all of these other secondary platforms like Instagram or Pintrest can be chosen are you see fit. Think of your target audience and how either platform would reach them, but also think about your consulting firm's brand. Are you a fun, outgoing brand? Is it more conservative and clean-cut? That's a way in which you can choose which secondary social media platform is right for you.
Apr 19, 2014
Brand and service presence is vital for you, across all channels, increasingly digital channels. Search buyers need to find your business in order to engage with it.
Apr 19, 2014
Both. You should create the website and have a blog on the site for SEO. The back links in the blog will give your site points on the SEO meter. There are several ways to go about this. I would love to talk with you. You can contact me here.
Apr 19, 2014
BOTH! Think of your website as an "ALL ABOUT COMPANY AND SERVICES" and a Blog as away to plugin CURRENT COMPANY INTERESTS AND EVENTS that add value.
Apr 19, 2014
Simply in today's world you should do both. And create a differential or differentials. Why your consulting firm is different.
You want to generate AIDA . Awareness>Interest>Desire> and Action. Get people and potential clients to discover the strategic differences and the "whys" about you and your firm. Good luck.